


Etched Into My Skin

by gyeommi



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluffy Ending, M/M, This is so soft, at least I tried to be humorous, idk if i succeeded, tattoo artist!jaebum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 02:48:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10584840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gyeommi/pseuds/gyeommi
Summary: Choi Youngjae has done a lot of stupid things in his life. Can you blame him? He's a freshman in college. Young, impressionable, prone to getting drunk and making really bad decisions. And while this wasn't necessarily the worst thing to ever happen to him, (he shudders a little as he thinks back on The Dare™) it's definitely one of the top three.





	

Choi Young Jae has done a lot of stupid things in his life. Can you blame him? He's a freshman in college. Young, impressionable, prone to getting drunk and making really bad decisions. And while this wasn't necessarily the worst thing to ever happen to him, (he shudders a little as he thinks back on The Dare™) it's definitely one of the top three. 

"C'mon hyung," bambam all but cackled, his iron grip on youngjae's waist to prevent him from running away, "You lost the bet fair and square." Youngjae groaned. The brunette boy looked over his shoulder at his best friend and his roommate, mark, who also had his hands on youngjae's shoulders, pushing him forward gently. "Can't you guys let me off this once? Haven't I been a good best friend? I bought you guys coffee that day! And I didn't even ask you to pay me back!" He whines, voice cracking a little from desperation. "No can do," Mark said evenly. "You should've known Jackson would do anything you dare him to even if it costs him his life. Did you really think daring him to walk into jinyoung's room in nothing but briefs with a picture of Spongebob on his crotch and asking jinyoung on a date would intimidate him?" Mark looked at him pointedly, "In fact, he was probably glad because he wanted a reason to ask jinyoung out, even if the situation isn't exactly ideal. Anyway," he continued, "you chose this punishment yourself remember, so no backing out now. Also," he added, "the coffee you got us was cold and tasted like it's been sitting on the counter for hours." Youngjae made a small noise of discontent, but didn't argue because he knew Mark was right. He wasn't really against the idea of getting a tattoo, but he made the mistake of letting the boys decide where it should go. The boys —being the ever so caring people they are, chose his right arm, right below the shoulder, where they knew it would be difficult to hide, fully aware that youngjae's mom was gonna throw a fit when she sees it. He groaned loudly again, his feet scraping noisily on the pavement as he tried to resist the force of his two friends propelling him towards their destination. 

After a few more minutes of walking and youngjae trying to make a dash for it every once in a while, bambam pulled him to a halt. "Ah, we're here." He said, wiping the sweat beading on his forehead, a wicked glint in his eyes as he smiled at the signboard above their heads. "DEFSOUL TATTOO PARLOR," youngjae read the scratchy white font emblazoned over a black base, "you guys really chose the most dodgy looking tattoo parlor you could find," he deadpanned, eyeing the skull next to the giant font. Mark said nothing but waggled his eyebrows at youngjae and made his way inside, the youngest following after him, giggling in delight. Heaving a heavy sigh and resigning himself to his fate, he dejectedly dragged himself through the doors, the soft tinkling of a bell welcoming him in. 

The first thing he sees is a head full of jet black hair. Literally. The boy was so absorbed in feeling sorry for himself, he kept his eyes trained to the grimy floor, and didn't notice someone walking right in front of him until it was too late. Whoever it was seemed to be ducking to pick something up from the floor, resulting in their awkward position and youngjae being greeted by a mouthful of hair. "Ohmygod! I'm so so sorry," youngjae spluttered, backing up as quickly as he could and accidentally bumping into a counter, causing the items on it to clatter noisily. A pile of magazines with tattoo examples printed on them tipped precariously at the edge of the counter before crashing to the floor. "OHMYGOD! IM SO SORRY!" He shrieked again, arms flailing as he scrambled to pick them up. Before he could make it, however, the stranger bent down and gathered the mess up calmly. The other man straightened up and looked at youngjae properly for the first time, and suddenly youngjae wanted to run away for a completely different reason. The man had his long black hair styled back in a slick updo, and although he had a white mask hiding half his face, youngjae was still breathless from the high, chiseled cheekbones and strikingly cat-like eyes. He had a multitude of studs and chains adorning his ears, another thin silver chain around his neck and was dressed in a black shirt and black ripped jeans. His entire being radiated an aura that screamed intimidating and, frankly speaking, really fucking hot. Youngjae almost whimpered when they locked eyes. The older man cocked an eyebrow at him, "don't worry about it." He said smoothly before turning on his heels and walking away. The sound of his friends laughing and basking in his misery snapped him out of his daze, and he let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He walked over whilst glaring at them, face still feeling hot and probably red as a tomato. 

The guy dressed in black slid into an office chair behind the counter Mark and Bambam were stood at. "so what can I help you guys with?" He inquired, looking up at them. God, he even sounds hot, youngjae thought. The mans eyes flickered to youngjae for a second, making him flush even redder, wondering if he had voiced his thoughts out loud. "Well," mark said, suppressing a laugh, "our friend youngjae here would like a tattoo." The man looked over again. "Youngjae, huh? I'm jaebum, the only available artist right now since yugyeom went for lunch, and I'm the owner of this place, so you actually got lucky." He said. The slight crinkle around his eye hinted that he was smirking beneath the white mask. "O-okay sure that's fine no problem," youngjae stuttered, following as jaebum got up and gestured him over to a table littered with paper. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were sketches, some finished and some in progress, but all of them were stunningly beautiful, smooth black lines curling into intricate details, each curve complimenting each other and forming a masterpiece. Youngjae gasped softly as he studied the pieces, "did you draw all of these?" "Not all, but most of them," jaebum replied softly. "They're really good," youngjae said in awe. "Thanks, that's why I told you you got lucky," jaebum said, eyes crinkling up again. 

Whilst they were pretty shitty friends for making youngjae do this, they were at least good enough friends to sense that youngjae had the hots for jaebum and they were having a Moment, because Mark rolled his eyes at youngjaes admiring tone, and bambam conveniently chose this time to yell, "alright well, we're gonna be in the cafe next door. Come over when you're done," he winked greasily before grabbing mark's arm and towing him towards the exit. Before youngjae could protest, the bell tinkled as the door closed behind the two, and him and jaebum were thrown into an awkward silence. "So," The taller man cleared his throat, "what did you want to get tattooed?" Youngjae reddened again and started fidgeting with his sweater sleeve in order to avoid jaebum's gaze. "Ah, I was thinking, um...Ars," he mumbled. "Arse? As in like...?" Jaebum asked, sounding slightly scandalized. "NO!" Youngjae almost screamed, horrified. "No," he said calmer, "as in A-R-S. Ars," he quickly clarified, feeling like he might cry from how many times he's humiliated himself today. "Okay," jaebum said, sounding a mixture of relieved and slightly confused, but not pressing the matter further. "do you have a preferred font?" "Nah, I trust you to design it," youngjae winced a little, wondering if he sounded a bit like a pushover. But jaebum just chuckled and grabbed a pencil on the table and plopped onto the couch. "Alright," he said, bending over the table and proceeding to sketch. 

They sat in silence for a while, youngjae having pulled a chair up in front of jaebum to watch him work. The silence was filled with nothing but the sound of pencil scratching across paper, until it got a little suffocating for youngjae and he decided he should make some small talk to at least try and salvage the impression he has made on jaebum. "It's Latin," he said suddenly. Jaebum paused from his sketching to look up at him, quirking an eyebrow again but not saying anything. "It's short for Ars Vita. The full sentence is Ars longa, vita brevis, meaning art is long and life is short." Jaebum still wasn’t saying anything and youngjae was starting to regret saying anything at all, but he wasn't sure what to do so he continued to rambled on, "it's like an alter ego of mine, sorta, but it's not as weird as it sounds I promise. It's just that sometimes I write and produce songs and it would look like, nicer with a stage name on the credits than a full name please don't think I'm weir-" Youngjae's nervous speech was cut off by jaebum letting out a laugh as he pulled down his face mask. "No worries," he says easily, and youngjae was momentarily distracted by the shiny silver lip ring hooked on jaebum's lower lip, complementing the perfect row of blindingly white teeth that flashed as he smiled widely. Youngjae felt like his insides were melting into a pile of mush. "I completely understand. Actually, I produce songs too, under the name Defsoul, which explains the name of this place," he finished. The younger boy's mouth gaped open. "You're interested in music too? Is there anything you don't do?!" He asked, slightly exasperated at how ridiculously perfect jaebum was. Youngjae was starting to believe he had found the real life Edward Cullen. He could totally pass as a vampire with his all black clothing and mysterious aura. But jaebum just laughed again and replied lightly, "what can I say? Art is long and life is short." He winked at youngjae before standing up with his sketch in hand and that, that was it. Youngjae was officially soft as a marshmallow. Jaebum led him to another side of the room and youngjae blindly followed after like a lovesick puppy. 

Youngjae was a little disappointed when he realized Jaebum was simply leading him to where the equipment was and not some back room where they could get it on, which effectively snapped him out of his lovesick reverie. The older instructed youngjae to settle in a large leather reclining chair and roll his sleeve up. He obeyed, feeling a little self conscious as he exposed his pale arm, skinny in comparison to jaebums toned one. He had not realized he had been rubbing at his arm absent-mindedly until jaebum gently pried it away, to make way for him to place the sketch over youngjaes skin, leaving an imprint. He jumped slightly at the contact, feeling the electrifying touch of jaebums finger leaving their own invisible print on his arm. Jaebum smoothed the paper over with practiced skill, before peeling it back and handing youngjae a mirror so he could see it clearer. "What do you think?" He asked, and youngjae thinks he sensed a touch of hopefulness in his voice. Jaebum didn't need to worry though, as Youngjae was in awe once again as studied the blue ink that twisted gracefully into the three bold letters, contrasted clearly against his fair skin. "It's beautiful," Youngjae said earnestly, "Honestly, its better than anything I could have imagined." He looked up to smile at Jaebum, who returned it with a small smile of his own. Youngjae wondered if he was imagining the light pink dusting across Jaebum's cheeks, but before he could give it much thought, Jaebum cleared his throat. "Well," he said, busying himself with grabbing some tools, "we should get started then." 

Youngjae had sort of forgotten up to this point that he was about to get something written on his skin. Permanently. And painfully. With a very sharp needle. These thoughts suddenly came rushing back at lightning speed as he heard the low buzzing noise of the machine. The nervousness must have shown on his face, because when Jaebum looked over at the younger boy, his expression softened a little. "I'll talk to you to distract you through it, alright?" Youngjae simply nodded, not trusting himself to speak, knowing if he did he'd either say something like "dear god please I don't want to do this can I call my mom" or he'd end up asking Jaebum to marry him or something. He kept his mouth clamped tightly shut and looked to the other side as Jaebum started inking the letters in. Youngjae winced a little at the initial pain, but it was bearable. "So," Jaebum said, eyes trained on the work in front of him as he talked, "what made you decide to get a tattoo? No offence, but you don't strike me as the type who would fancy tattoos. You're too," jaebum paused. "Adorable," he finished a little sheepishly. Youngjae appreciated jaebum's good intention of trying to distract him. He really did. But dear god, jaebum indirectly calling him cute, not to mention being close enough that youngjae could feel the other's warm breath tickling his arm, was doing absolutely nothing to calm him down. In fact, it was making it much worse, and jaebum seemed to notice when other boy said quickly through gritted teeth, "it was a dare." He smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry you have shitty friends, and I'm sorry I'm hurting you right now, it'll be over really soon, I promise." He sounded genuinely concerned and youngjae wasn't sure how much longer of this he could take, and he wasn't talking about the tattooing. "You could grab my other hand if it'll help calm you down?" Jaebum suggested, getting back to work. Youngjae thinks he might cry. 

Needless to say, youngjae did not calm down throughout the entire process. He gripped Jaebum's hand so tightly he worried he might have broken his fingers, although the older boy graciously didn't complain. Mark and bambam were enjoying their coffees (and youngjae's suffering), chattering animatedly when they were greeted by a disgruntled Youngjae, holding his red and swollen arm stiffly and he stalked up to them. "Well, everything went well I assume," bambam started. Youngjae simply glowered at him. "How much did it cost?" Mark asked, who at least had the decency to look slightly sorry. Youngjae hesitated, thinking back on what jaebum said. "It's free of charge," jaebum stopped youngjae's hand as he struggled to get his wallet out. "You already had to do this on a dare, I don't want you to have to pay for it to," he explained. "Ah, thank you, I don't know how to repay you for this. You did an amazing job," Youngjae stammered, gesturing to his arm. "Well, you could repay me with your number," jaebum replied smoothly. Youngjae thinks he might have heard wrongly. "What?" He mumbled in disbelief, staring wide-eyed. "We could work on some music. I think we'd be good together," jaebum muses, leaning back on the wall. A smirk forming on his face, perfectly aware of the way he'd worded his sentence. Youngjae felt his stomach lurch and drop to his feet. He was pretty sure he left his stomach (along with his number) somewhere in that parlor. "Hello? Earth to Youngjae," youngjaes flashback was rudely interrupted by an obnoxious bambam waving his hand in front of his face. "How much it was doesn't matter," he said, "but it's gonna cost you both your life the next time we have a dare. You're gonna regret this," he threatened. The pairing had the nerve to laugh at youngjae's warning, but he found that he was in too good of a mood to really mind. You'd think he would have learnt his lesson after this experience, but, youngjae realized as he sipped on the coffee he stole from Mark (“HEY! Get your own!”), he didn't really mind another dare if each punishment would turn out the way it did today.

xxx

**Author's Note:**

> (If anyone was wondering what 'The Dare' was it involved lots of alcohol, little to no clothing and running through the entire campus. By some miracle (or jinyoung's sweet talking), he didn't get expelled, but he came very close to)
> 
> I didn't proof read it properly so please ignore any typos or grammatical mistakes ;-; anyway I hope you enjoy and feedback is always appreciated! <3  
> Follow me on Twitter at @qyeommie


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